Mimicry artist and actor Kollam Sudhi’s untimely death was a shock for his near and dear ones. He had to really struggle to gain a foothold in the entertainment business. What’s really agonising is that his death came at a time when things had finally started looking up for him in life.
For someone who always made people laugh, it was rather shocking to listen to the difficulties he faced in life on a channel show. In an interview with Vanitha online in 2020, he opened up about the hardships he faced.
“Till I revealed the kind of sufferings I faced in life, only those who were close to me were aware of it. My first marriage, which was 16 years ago was a love match. But that marriage didn’t last long, and she left me for someone else. Our 1 and half-year-old child was with me. Those were really hard days and we really struggled to stay afloat.
She committed suicide as her second marriage wasn’t working out. She has a child from that relationship. I have no ill will to anyone. God has gifted me a happy family now with a wife who loves me very much and two daughters. They are my greatest treasure.
Renu adores Rahul. She always says that though she didn’t give birth to him, he will always be her firstborn. They are very good friends. Now Rahul is in 10th grade. He was 11 when I married Renu. From that moment he has never missed having a mother in his life.
Renu decided to marry me after knowing everything about my life. Her support in my journey has been amazing. Before she came into my life, I used to take my infant son to all the stage shows. I would put him to sleep before entering the stage. Or my colleagues will take care of him. He started holding curtains by the time he was 5.
I was born in Kochi. My father was the Revenue Inspector at Cochin Corporation. My mother’s name was Gomathi. Later we shifted to Kollam. I have an elder brother, a sister, and a young brother. My young brother Subhash died. I started mimicry at the age of 16-17, and it has been 30 years now. It was my singing that made way for my mimicry. My mother was fond of my singing. I was in the team of Mundayckal Vinod, Shobi Thilakan, Raja Saheb and Shammi Thilakan. During the initial phases of my career, I used to mimic Suresh Gopy. And later tried Jagadish.
Though I was part of Comedy Stars, it was Mazhavil Manorama’s ‘Comedy Festival’ that really made me popular. The skits were really popular. And we also bagged the first prize. I have done 40 films so far. My debut film is ‘Chennai Koottam.’ Later I was active on Television through Star Magic. Now people recognize me and ask for selfies. I can’t be happier,” says Sudhi.
Some of his notable characters were in 'Kattapanayile Rithwik Roshan', 'Kuttanadan Marpappa', 'Theetta Rappai', 'Vakathirivu', 'An International Local Story', 'Kesu Eee Veedinte Nathan', 'Escape', 'Swargathile Katturumbu' etc
